Question Period Note: Digital Modernization

Modernizing Canada’s migration, citizenship and passport systems.

PROPOSED RESPONSE:
• Canadians expect their immigration system to keep pace in a digital, competitive and fast-paced world. This is why the Government of Canada is modernizing Canada’s immigration system.
• Over the next five years, IRCC will undertake a business transformation journey by replacing its aging IT platform and introducing new data and digital capabilities.
• Ultimately, our Digital Platform Modernization programme will enable IRCC to:
o meet expectations for client-focused services and a better client experience;
o respond quickly to changing conditions and new priorities;
o manage increasing application volumes; and
o better use data to improve programs and keep Canadians safe, healthy and secure.
• Moving forward, we know public confidence in a technology-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to protect against bias and discrimination and to ensure accessibility.
If pressed:
• This initiative builds on work to date and will draw on the Department’s response to the COVID 19 pandemic, which resulted in digital innovation and demonstrated the importance of agility in our programs and services.
• The modernization of Canada’s immigration system is supported by the announcement of $827.3 million in the 2021 federal Budget.
• Due to the scale and complexity of this project, IRCC will be looking to private sector suppliers with world-class skills and experience to support the development and implementation of a new operating model and IT platform.

BACKGROUND:
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is undertaking a multi-year, multi-phase business modernization and IT renewal initiative known as Digital Platform Modernization (DPM).
• DPM will deliver a new operating model with redesigned and optimized business processes and a new supporting digital platform, with modern capabilities, that will gradually replace IRCC’s aging IT platform (i.e., the Global Case Management System, or GCMS) and other legacy systems.
• Our goals and objectives are clear as we go forward — DPM is an incremental programme. The DPM programme will accomplish this by delivering three consecutive and overlapping phases.
• Phase 1 (known as “Stabilize”), was designed to de-risk and stabilize GCMS in advance of Phases 2 and 3, with a focus on reducing the technical debt that had accumulated over the years in the legacy system. Additional investments included cloud technology and capacity that will be leveraged as part of Phase 2.
• Phase 2 (“Standardize”), currently underway and building upon elements of Phase 1, continues to standardize operations and reduce technical debt to prepare the department for modernization. Ongoing maturing of the cloud elements we need for the new digital platform during Phase 3 is also underway.
• Phase 3 (“Enhance”), now in its Definition stage, will transform the way that IRCC works and delivers its services to clients and Canadians around the world through the delivery of a new digital platform and the processes and policies that support it.
• The third phase of the DPM initiative, or DPM Phase 3, is underway, running from January 2022 through December 2026. It represents an ambitious and significant undertaking for the Government of Canada. Budget 2021 committed $827.3 over five years to support the modernization of Canada’s immigration system and the development of an enterprise-wide digital platform.
• DPM Phase 3 is designed to achieve a business vision for a modern, digital and data-driven managed migration system. This system will be nimble, flexible and responsive enough to support growing volumes, actively helping us reduce application processing times; improve tools for our officers; meet the Government’s immigration and diversity priorities; and critically respond to the changing needs and expectations of clients as Canada seeks to out-compete other countries for the best and brightest.
• A key activity during the “Definition” stage of DPM Phase 3 (approx. the first 15 months) will be engaging prospective vendors. In collaboration with Public Services and Procurement Canada, IRCC has undertaken a Request for Information (RFI), the purpose of which is to inform industry of IRCC’s requirement for DPM Phase 3 and to give industry the opportunity to provide feedback on the requirement and subsequent engagement activities. A formal Request for Proposals will follow at a later date.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers immigration programs is critical, so Canadians can continue to enjoy the benefits of immigration. Canada’s managed migration system contributes to Canadian interests in several ways, including by driving economic growth and innovation; growing the population, specifically the labour force to help offset the pace of retirements as Canadians age; enriching and building communities; and contributing to Canada’s diversity and international reputation.
• Modernizing the way IRCC delivers its programs and services will directly benefit Canadians in other ways, too. For example, among the millions of people who interact with IRCC’s services each year are Canadians sponsoring relatives, hiring employees, applying for or renewing passports, and engaging with citizenship programming.
• Overall, modernization will enable IRCC to further the Government’s vision to be “an open and service-oriented organization that operates and delivers programs and services to people and business in simple, modern and effective ways that are optimized for digital and available anytime, anywhere and from any device.”
DPM is part of IRCC’s broader transformation effort
• IRCC is modernizing the way it works, including how it delivers services (e.g., finding better ways to process applications) and the Department’s digital infrastructure (e.g., providing better digital tools for employees and new digital services to meet changing client expectations).
• IRCC has already undertaken extensive work to transform the Department’s numerous business lines, including introducing back-end technology and administrative efficiencies, as well as new client-facing tools and service delivery channels.
• In many ways the COVID 19 pandemic accelerated transformation efforts already underway. For example, during the pandemic, IRCC
o began to hold asylum interviews remotely;
o welcomed new Canadians at virtual citizenship ceremonies;
o became the first country in the world to offer citizenship testing online; and
o expanded the ability to submit applications electronically in some permanent residence streams.
• IRCC also recognizes that clients and Canadians increasingly expect programs and services that are fast, personalized, intuitive and able to respond to changing conditions as quickly as information now moves around the world.
Application volumes and processing times
• An enhanced digital platform will enable us to manage increasing application volumes.
• While we are in the process of defining our processing targets as part of our modernization vision, we expect that the future system will provide clients with faster processing, user-friendly and seamless online services, and more – and more timely – information about their application status.
Anti-racism and Anti-discrimination principles
• IRCC knows that public confidence in a technology-enabled immigration system will depend on safeguards to protect against unintended bias and discrimination, and in ensuring accessibility for a diverse client population. We are committed to embedding the principles of diversity, equity and anti-racism into our modernization journey.
• The modernization of IRCC’s IT platform and business systems is expected to benefit our diverse client base, including by providing a user experience that is easier and more transparent.
• As we embark on the Definition stage of the Digital Platform Modernization programme, IRCC is applying an intersectional approach, i.e., anti-racism and Gender Based Analytical lenses, to its work.
• The enhanced digital platform will ensure digital solutions are developed for disparate impacts on Black, Indigenous and racialized groups, take into account diverse realities and intersectionality by active inclusion of diverse representatives; and review and monitor analytical model building process to ensure that bias is not replicated or imitated in data gathering and analysis.

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